Systems and methods of online interfaces for hierarchically arranged user-generated content

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are provided methods for providing an online interface for displaying hierarchically or logically arranged user-generated content. One method including receiving, from a first user over a network, topical user-generated electronic content, the topical user-generated electronic content being related to a topic of a web page; displaying the topical user-generated electronic content received from the first user on the web page; receiving, from a second user over the network, responsive user-generated electronic content and an indication of a desire to post the responsive user-generated electronic content on the web page in association with the topical user-generated electronic content; and displaying, adjacent to the topical user-generated electronic content on the web page, a user element or link that a third user can manipulate to display the responsive user-generated electronic content adjacent to the topical user-generated electronic content.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/453,812, filed on Aug. 7, 2014, which claims the benefit of priorityto U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/865,458, filed on Aug. 13, 2013,all of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Various embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally toprocessing electronic messages, such as over the Internet or othersuitable electronic network. More specifically, particular embodimentsof the present disclosure relate to systems and methods for processingand displaying user-generated content, such as comments submitted overthe Internet.

BACKGROUND

Typically, online publishers, such as online media companies and otherpublishers of articles, stories, audio/visual programming, and otherelectronic content, provide online web page space and mechanisms forviewers to comment on, or otherwise interact with, that publishedcontent. Users may generate so called “user-generated content,” whichmay be related to the subject matter of the publisher's content or otherelectronic content, or only slightly related to that content. Theuser-generated content may include textual narrative, opinions, facts,etc., and/or electronic recordings of video and/or audio. Likewise, thepublisher's content may include any combination of textual narrative,opinions, facts, etc., and/or electronic recordings of video and/oraudio. Users may interact with publisher's content and generate new,related content by interacting with web servers using one or more mobileor computer devices connected to the Internet.

Some articles attract significant user-generated content in the form ofcomments, which may sometimes appear in numbers too great for one personto browse through all of those comments. In addition, someuser-generated comments may form a conversation, i.e., by replying toone another, and some conversations may be especially worth noting fortheir ability to invite more user interactions. The prevalent way topresent comments is in order of recency (e.g., more recent comments onthe top), sometimes causing other interesting of insightful comments todisappear. Because of how comments are typically displayed in sequentialorder and in un-nested conversations, it can be difficult for readers toidentify important or interesting comments or conversations. Inaddition, replies to comments are often indented to show that thecomment is a reply to another comment. If the reply is indented by,e.g., one unit or tab, then the reply might be a reply to an original or“parent” comment. If the reply is indented by, e.g., two or more unitsor tabs, then the reply might be a reply to another reply. Regardless ofthe number or combination of original comments, replies to originalcomments, and/or replies to replies, any or all of those comments andreplies may be displayed in sequential order based on the timestamp ofthe comment or reply (i.e., the time when the commenting server receivedthe comment or reply from the respective user). As a result, it can bedifficult for readers of comments to determine when a comment is areply, and to identify which comment or reply a particular reply is inresponse to. Web pages that have extensive commenting can becomeunmanageable for users to read, causing decreased user engagement andresulting disadvantages for advertising revenue.

Accordingly, a need exists for systems and methods for processing anddisplaying user-generated content, such as comments submitted over theInternet. More specifically, a need exists for systems and methods forprocessing user-generated content to generate interfaces ofhierarchically arranged comments.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Embodiments of the present disclosure include methods for providing anonline interface for displaying hierarchically or logically arrangeduser-generated content. One method including receiving, from a firstuser over a network, topical user-generated electronic content, thetopical user-generated electronic content being related to a topic of aweb page; displaying the topical user-generated electronic contentreceived from the first user on the web page; receiving, from a seconduser over the network, responsive user-generated electronic content andan indication of a desire to post the responsive user-generatedelectronic content on the web page in association with the topicaluser-generated electronic content; and displaying, adjacent to thetopical user-generated electronic content on the web page, a userelement or link that a third user can manipulate to display theresponsive user-generated electronic content adjacent to the topicaluser-generated electronic content.

According to certain embodiments, systems are disclosed for providing anonline interface for displaying hierarchically or logically arrangeduser-generated content. One system includes a memory device storinginstructions for providing an online interface for displayinghierarchically or logically arranged user-generated content; and aprocessor configured to execute the instructions to perform a method of:receiving, from a first user over a network, topical user-generatedelectronic content, the topical user-generated electronic content beingrelated to a topic of a web page; displaying the topical user-generatedelectronic content received from the first user on the web page;receiving, from a second user over the network, responsiveuser-generated electronic content and an indication of a desire to postthe responsive user-generated electronic content on the web page inassociation with the topical user-generated electronic content; anddisplaying, adjacent to the topical user-generated electronic content onthe web page, a user element or link that a third user can manipulate todisplay the responsive user-generated electronic content adjacent to thetopical user-generated electronic content.

Additional objects and advantages of the disclosed embodiments will beset forth in part in the description that follows, and in part will beapparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of thedisclosed embodiments. The objects and advantages of the disclosedembodiments will be realized and attained by means of the elements andcombinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory onlyand are not restrictive of the scope of disclosed embodiments, as setforth by the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate various exemplary embodiments andtogether with the description, serve to explain the principles of thedisclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network environment and system forprocessing and displaying user-generated content, according to anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a screenshot of an existing user interface for processing anddisplaying user-generated content;

FIGS. 3A-3C are schematic diagrams of an exemplary technique forarranging user-generated content, such as comments, based on ahierarchical or logical structure or interface, according to anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are schematic diagrams of another exemplary techniquefor arranging user-generated content, such as comments, based on ahierarchical or logical structure or interface, according to anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a screenshot of an exemplary user interface for arranginguser-generated content, such as comments, based on a hierarchical orlogical structure or interface, according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is another screenshot of an exemplary user interface forarranging user-generated content, such as comments, based on ahierarchical or logical structure or interface, according to anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is yet another screenshot of an exemplary user interface forarranging user-generated content, such as comments, based on ahierarchical or logical structure or interface, according to anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is yet another screenshot of an exemplary user interface forarranging user-generated content, such as comments, based on ahierarchical or logical structure or interface, according to anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 9 is a simplified functional block diagram of a computer or serversystem that may be configured as a host server, for example, forarranging user-generated content, such as comments, based on ahierarchical or logical structure or interface, or as a computer ormobile device, for example, for generating and/or interacting withuser-generated content, such as comments.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments of thedisclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be usedthroughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

In view of the challenges outlined above, systems and methods aredisclosed for processing and displaying user-generated content, such ascomments submitted over the Internet or other suitable electronicnetworks, including wired and/or wireless networks.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary environment in whichelectronic messages and other user-generated content may be processedand displayed, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the system and environment may include aplurality of user or commenter devices 102 disposed in communicationwith an electronic network 100. Electronic network 100 may be theInternet, or any other combination of wired and/or wireless electronicnetworks.

In one embodiment, each of user or commenter devices 102 may include aserver, personal computer, tablet computer, mobile device, smartphone,and/or personal digital assistant (“PDA”) disposed in communication withelectronic network 100. For example, in one embodiment, each of the useror commenter devices 102 may be a touchscreen enabled device, such as anApple iPad, Samsung Galaxy, Amazon Kindle, Microsoft Surface, or anyother equivalent or similar device. Each of the user or commenterdevices 102 may have a web browser, mobile browser, or other suitableapplication installed for receiving and displaying content from webservers. Thus, each of the user or commenter devices 102 may beconfigured to receive and display data that is received and processed,over electronic network 100.

As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of server systems 106, a browser webserver 114, and/or a mobile web server 116 may also be disposed incommunication with electronic network 100. In one embodiment, serversystems 106 may be configured to receive user-generated content, such ascomments from users or commenter devices 102 over electronic network100. Any of the devices or functionality of server systems 106, browserweb server 114, and/or a mobile web server 116 may be combined togetheror separated, and may be operated by a single administrative entity, oroutsourced to one or more other entities, such as a web hosting entity,web storage entity, and/or cloud computing service, possibly disposedremotely of each other.

As shown in the embodiment of FIG. 1, server systems 106 may include acommenting processor 110, which may be configured to analyze and executemethods and algorithms for arranging user-generated content, such as oneor more comments received from user or commenter devices 102, based on ahierarchical or logical structure or interface. Server systems 106 mayalso include one or more databases 108, that store algorithms forgenerating hierarchically or logically arranged commenting interfaces,and where commenting processor 110 may be configured to store receiveduser-generated content and/or results of executing the algorithms forgenerating hierarchically or logically arranged commenting interfaces.Any received data may be stored in the databases 108 in an encryptedform to increase security of the data against unauthorized access.

Server systems 106 may also include a commenting user interface (UI)module 112 that facilitates receiving user-generated content from users,displaying received user-generated content, and also displayinghierarchically or logically arranged commenting interfaces. For example,commenting UI module 112 may be configured to generate, render, andtransmit to user or commenter devices 102 images of comments, possiblyincluding textual data of comments, icons for “liking” or “favoriting”comments, displaying replies, displaying related comments, etc.Commenting UI module 112 also may be configured to update and transmitrevised or updated commenting content, including lists of comments,featured comments, comments sorted based on a score, etc., as will bedescribed herein and with respect to the exemplary screenshots of FIGS.3A-8.

FIG. 2 is a screenshot of an exemplary user interface 200 for processingand displaying user-generated content. As shown in FIG. 2, in interfacesfor generating, displaying, and organizing user-generated content, suchas comments or messages, the content is typically displayed insequential order and in un-nested conversations. Replies touser-generated content, such as comments and messages, are oftenindented to show that the comment is a reply to another comment. If thereply is indented by one unit or tab, then the reply might be a reply toan original or “parent” comment. If a reply is indented by two or moreunits or tabs, then the reply might be a reply to another reply. Forexample, in the exemplary user interface 200 of FIG. 2, comment 204 isindicated as a reply to the original or parent comment 202, because itis shown below and indented with respect to the parent comment. However,it is difficult to ascertain whether comment 206 is indented by one tabor two, and whether it is in reply to the original comment 202 or thereply comment 204. Regardless of the number or combination of originalcomments, in existing interfaces, replies to original comments, and/orreplies to replies, any or all of those comments and replies may bedisplayed in sequential order based on the timestamp of the comment orreply (e.g., the time when the commenting server received the comment orreply from the respective user). As a result, it can be difficult forreaders of comments to determine when a comment is a reply, and toidentify which comment or reply a particular reply is in response to. Inaddition, it can be difficult for readers to identify important orinteresting comments or conversations.

FIGS. 3A-3C are schematic diagrams of an exemplary technique forarranging user-generated content, such as comments, based on ahierarchical or logical structure or interface, according to anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3A shows aninterface 300 having an exemplary series of comments and reply comments,which are arranged according to existing techniques. Specifically, replycomments 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D are in response to original comment 1. Replycomment 1Bi is in response to reply comment 1B. Reply comment 2A is inresponse to original comment 2, and reply comment 2Ai is in response toreply comment 2A. Instead of arranging the comments and reply commentsin sequential order and as being indented to reflect conversationalrelationships (as shown in FIG. 3A), the comments and reply comments maybe arranged according to a more logical and/or hierarchical structure.

For example, as shown in interface 325 of FIG. 3B, initially, such aswhen a user first requests to view user-generated content (e.g.,comments on an article, video, etc.), the user may be presented withoriginal comments, in this case, original comments 1, 2, and 3. That is,initially, reply comments and replies to replies may be hidden from theuser, so that the user can begin by scrolling or swiping throughoriginal comments to the displayed online content. In one embodiment, ifone or more of the original comments was replied to, any type of userelement may be presented that allows the user to selectively display andreview those replies to the respective comment. For example, as shown inFIG. 3B, since original comments 1 and 2 have replies to them, theoriginal comments 1 and 2 of interface 325 may display a user element(e.g., a link) that reads, for example, “Read Replies.” By way ofillustration, if a user selects a button or link to read the replies tocomment 1, for example, then the interface may update or change todisplay the replies to comment 1. For example, as shown in FIG. 3C,interface 350 may be displayed to show the replies to comment 1,including replies 1A-1D. Again, following the same logic andhierarchical structure, since reply 1B has a reply (reply 1Bi), reply 1Bmay also display a “Read Replies” link or button, which a user canmanipulate to display the replies to reply 1B, and so on. It should beappreciated that there is no limit to the number of layers or iterationsof replies that may be nested and subsequently unpackaged or displayedto the user, based on the user's selective manipulation of the commentsand replies.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are schematic diagrams of another exemplary techniquefor arranging user-generated content, such as comments, based on ahierarchical or logical structure or interface, according to anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, like FIG.3A, FIG. 4A depicts an interface 400 having an exemplary series ofcomments and reply comments, which are arranged according to existingtechniques. Specifically, reply comments 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D are inresponse to original comment 1. Reply comment 1Bi is in response toreply comment 1B. Reply comment 2A is in response to original comment 2,and reply comment 2Ai is in response to reply comment 2A. Instead ofarranging the comments and reply comments in sequential or temporalorder and as being indented to reflect conversational relationships (asshown in FIG. 3A), the comments and reply comments may be arrangedaccording to a more logical and/or hierarchical structure.

For example, as shown in interface 425 of FIG. 4B, a user may initiallybe presented with only one original comment at a time, such as one ofcomments 1, 2, or 3. The user may use arrow elements, a scroll bar, akeyboard, and/or a device touch screen to scroll left and right betweenthe various original comments. For example, a user may use a mouse toclick on left arrow 425 a and/or right arrow 425 b to change the displayof one of comments 1, 2, or 3, the user may use the mouse to control ascroll bar to change the display of one of comments 1, 2, or 3, the usermay use the arrow keys on a keyboard to change the display of one ofcomments 1, 2, or 3, and/or the user may swipe left and/or right on atouch screen to change the display of one of comments 1, 2, or 3.

Whenever the user is presented with an original comment to which one ormore other users replied, the original comment may have appended theretoa “Read Replies” link or button, which a user can manipulate to displaythe replies to that comment. For example, if a user is viewing originalcomment 1 and selects to “Read Replies,” then the replies (in this casereplies 1A-1D) may appear below the original comment, and the user mayuse arrow elements 425 a and 425 b, a scroll bar, a keyboard, and/or adevice touch screen to scroll up and down between the replies tooriginal comment 1. If a user is viewing original comment 2 and selectsto “Read Replies,” then the replies (in this case reply 2A) may appearbelow the original comment, and the user may use arrow elements 425 aand 425 b, a scroll bar, a keyboard, and/or a device touch screen toscroll up and down between the replies to original comment 2. At anytime, if one of the displayed replies received one or more replies,then, again, a user may select to “Read Replies,” which may causereplies to the replies to appear in the orthogonal direction, which auser can again scroll or swipe through to view. Thus, as shown in theembodiments, of FIG. 4B, user-generated content, such as comments andmessages, may be arranged in two-dimensional grids based on therelationships between various comments, replies, replies to replies, andso on.

FIG. 5 is a screenshot of an exemplary user interface for arranginguser-generated content, such as comments, based on a hierarchical orlogical structure or interface, according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present disclosure. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, an originalcomment 502 may be displayed. In this case, original comment 502 wasgenerated and submitted for display on a website by a user having theusername, BE4REEL2, as part of a “conversation” involving a total oftwelve original comments among nine people.

The user-generated content, may be displayed or presented after theentire content in which the user-generated content is associated.Alternatively, the user-generated content may be displayed or presentedin-line with the content in which the user-generated content isassociated. As yet another alternative, the user-generated content maybedisplayed separate from the content, the user-generated content maybedisplayed before the entire content, before a line of content, or aftera line of content in which the user-generated content is associated.

As shown in FIG. 5, consistent with the present disclosure and theembodiments of FIGS. 3B-3C, an interface may display one of the repliesto the original comment 502. In this case, the screenshot of FIG. 5 isdepicting a first reply comment 504, which is indicated by indicia 506as being the first (“1”) of 200 replies to the original comment 502 byuser BE4REEL2. As shown in FIG. 5, a user viewing original comment 502and reply comment 504 may cycle between and among the 200 replies to theoriginal BE4REEL2 comment 502, by manipulating one or more scrollingelements 510 a and 510 b. A user may use a mouse to click on left arrow510 a and/or right arrow 510 b to change the reply displayed, the usermay use the mouse to control a scroll bar to change the reply displayed,the user may use the arrow keys on a keyboard to change the replydisplayed, and/or the user may swipe left and/or right on a touch screento change the reply displayed. Of course, the user may cycle between andamong the replies to the original comment 502 using any suitable userinterface or UI device, such as a mouse, keyboard, touchscreen, and soon.

As shown in FIG. 5, the reply comment 504 may include a “See All” linkor other user element 508, which a user may manipulate to display all200 replies to the original comment 502. In other words, when a userselects an element such as “See All” element 508, the interface maydisplay all of the replies that exist in the same hierarchy as thecomment or reply containing that element. So, in this case, selecting“See All” element 508 will reveal, in addition to VICKIG's reply toBE4REEL2, all of the remaining 199 replies of the 200 total replies tooriginal comment 502.

As shown in FIG. 5, the reply comment 504 may also include a “ReadReplies” link or other user element 512, which a user may manipulate todisplay the replies to the reply comment 504. In other words, when auser selects an element such as the “Read Replies” element 512, theinterface may display all of the replies to the comment or replycontaining the “Read Replies” element. So, in this case, selecting “ReadReplies” element 512 will reveal one or more of the replies to the replycomment 504 by VICKIG.

FIG. 6 is another screenshot of an exemplary user interface forarranging user-generated content, such as comments, based on ahierarchical or logical structure or interface. Specifically, FIG. 6depicts a screenshot of an exemplary interface that may be displayedafter a user has selected “Read Replies” element 512 of FIG. 5.Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, upon requesting to view the replies toreply comment 504 by VICKIG, the interface may display one or more ofthe replies to that comment. In this case, as indicated by the indicia604, the user interface is displaying the sixth of the eighteen totalreplies to VICKIG's reply comment 504. As with the reply comment 504,the reply to the reply, i.e., reply 602, may display similar userelements to move between same-level replies and/or to display additionallayers of replies. In one embodiment, a user may select one or morescrolling elements 610 a, 610 b to scroll between and among the eighteenreplies to VICKIG. A user may use a mouse to click on left arrow 610 aand/or right arrow 610 b to change the reply displayed, the user may usethe mouse to control a scroll bar to change the reply displayed, theuser may use the arrow keys on a keyboard to change the reply displayed,and/or the user may swipe left and/or right on a touch screen to changethe reply displayed. Of course, the user may cycle between and among thereplies to the reply comment 504 using any suitable user interface or UIdevice, such as a mouse, keyboard, touchscreen, and so on.

Alternatively, a user may select an element such as “See All” element606 to request that the interface display all of the replies that existin the same hierarchy as the comment or reply containing that element.So, in this case, selecting “See All” element 606 will reveal, inaddition to LOREM632's reply to VICKIG, all of the remaining seventeenreplies of the eighteen total replies to reply comment 504.

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary screenshot of the interface after a user hasselected the “See All” element 606 (discussed above with respect to FIG.6), where the interface may display all eighteen of the replies to thereply comment 504 by VICKIG. Specifically, the screenshot of FIG. 7depicts three of the eighteen replies to VICKIG, namely, reply 602 byLOREM632, reply 702 by SUZIQ, and reply 704 by IPSUM23. Of course, whilethey do not appear in the screenshot of FIG. 7, the interface may bedisplaying the remainder of the eighteen total replies below a pagebreak or scroll line in the display.

Regardless of where a user is positioned within an arrangement of usercontent, a user may manipulate the interface to “go up” a level incomments, e.g., to hide one or more replies, or replies to replies. Forexample, whether the user is at the position of FIG. 6 (and viewing onlyLOREM632's reply to VICKIG) or of FIG. 7 (and viewing all replies toVICKIG), the user can manipulate the interface to hide VICKIG's replyand the replies corresponding to VICKIG's reply. For example, a user canmanipulate one or more of user elements 510 a, and 510 b, or otherscroll bars or arrows (or user input mechanisms, such as a touchscreen),to move between other replies to the original comment 502. For example,as shown in FIG. 8, a user may have interacted with user elements 510 a,510 b once (or swiped to the left or right once on a touch device) toadvance to the next of the two hundred replies to the original comment502 by BE4REEL2. Specifically, as indicated by the indicia 804, FIG. 8depicts a screenshot of the interface displaying the second reply 802(“2”) of the two hundred replies to the original comment 502 byBE4REEL2, which in this case is a reply 802 by a user with the username,JESSEJ. As described above with respect to the interfaces of FIGS. 5-7,a user may select a “See All” link or other user element 806, which auser may manipulate to display all two hundred replies to the originalcomment 502. In other words, when a user selects an element such as “SeeAll” element 806, the interface may display all of the replies thatexist in the same hierarchy as the comment or reply containing thatelement. So, in this case, selecting “See All” element 806 will reveal,in addition to JESSEJ's reply to BE4REEL2, all of the remaining 199replies of the two hundred total replies to original comment 502. Inaddition, as shown in FIG. 8, a user viewing original comment 502 andreply comment 808 may cycle between and among the 200 replies to theoriginal BE4REEL2 comment 502, by manipulating one or more scrollingelements 810 a, 810 b. A user may use a mouse to click on left arrow 810a and/or right arrow 810 b to change the reply displayed, the user mayuse the mouse to control a scroll bar to change the reply displayed, theuser may use the arrow keys on a keyboard to change the reply displayed,and/or the user may swipe left and/or right on a touch screen to changethe reply displayed. Of course, the user may cycle between and among thereplies to the original comment 502 using any suitable user interface orUI device, such as a mouse, keyboard, touchscreen, and so on.

Although not depicted in FIG. 8, if one or more users replied to thereply comment 802, then the reply comment 802 may also include a “ReadReplies” link or other user element, which a user may manipulate todisplay the replies to the reply comment 802. In other words, when auser selects an element such as the “Read Replies” element, theinterface may display all of the replies to the comment or replycontaining the “Read Replies” element, i.e., the one or more of thereplies to the reply comment 802 by JESSEJ, to the extent they have beengenerated by any users.

Accordingly, the presently disclosed systems and methods enable commentsto be displayed hierarchically or otherwise logically based on theirrelationships with one another. Instead of just indenting or otherwisespatially offsetting replies and replies-to-replies based on how manylevels deep the reply relates to, the present disclosure describes moreuser friendly techniques for displaying replies to the extent requestedand desired by the user. For example, the user can selectively displayonly parent or original comments, if desired. The user can selectivelydisplay one reply at a time for a particular parent or original comment.Alternatively, the user can selectively display all of the replies toparticular parent or original comment or reply. Moreover, the presentlydisclosed systems and methods provide a commenting interface that ismore user friendly, both in desktop/laptop environments and especiallyin mobile environments, which typically involve smaller, buttouch-sensitive, screens. Because the presently disclosed systems andmethods provide logically arranged comments, entire comments can bedisplayed without narrowing or otherwise compromising the display of acomment to reflect its relationship with other comments.

In one embodiment, the user may be presented with hyperlinks or a searchbar in which the user may type one or more keywords, or the user mayclick on or otherwise select a word that appears in the contentassociated with one or more comments. Doing so may cause only thosecomments having that keyword in the comment to appear in the commentssection of a web page. Alternatively or additionally, comments may besorted based on how many times the selected keyword appears in thosecomments. This technique may be incorporated in or used in addition tothe above-described logical or hierarchical techniques for presentingcomments of particular interest to a user or reader of electroniccontent.

FIG. 9 is a simplified functional block diagram of a computer or serversystem that may be configured as a host server, for example, forarranging user-generated content, such as comments, based on ahierarchical or logical structure or interface, or as a computer ormobile device, for example, for generating and/or interacting withuser-generated content, such as comments. Specifically, FIG. 9illustrates a network or host computer platform 900, as may typically beused to implement a server like the commenting server systems 106. It isbelieved that those skilled in the art are familiar with the structure,programming and general operation of such computer equipment and as aresult the drawings should be self-explanatory.

A platform for a server or the like 900, for example, may include a datacommunication interface for packet data communication 960. The platformmay also include a central processing unit (CPU) 920, in the form of oneor more processors, for executing program instructions. The platformtypically includes an internal communication bus 910, program storageand data storage for various data files to be processed and/orcommunicated by the platform such as ROM 930 and RAM 940, although theserver 900 often receives programming and data via networkcommunications 970. The hardware elements, operating systems andprogramming languages of such equipment are conventional in nature, andit is presumed that those skilled in the art are adequately familiartherewith. The server 900 also may include input and output ports 950 toconnect with input and output devices such as keyboards, mice,touchscreens, monitors, displays, etc. Of course, the various serverfunctions may be implemented in a distributed fashion on a number ofsimilar platforms, to distribute the processing load. Alternatively, theservers may be implemented by appropriate programming of one computerhardware platform.

Program aspects of the technology may be thought of as “products” or“articles of manufacture” typically in the form of executable codeand/or associated data that is carried on or embodied in a type ofmachine readable medium. “Storage” type media include any or all of thetangible memory of the computers, processors or the like, or associatedmodules thereof, such as various semiconductor memories, tape drives,disk drives and the like, which may provide non-transitory storage atany time for the software programming. All or portions of the softwaremay at times be communicated through the Internet or various othertelecommunication networks. Such communications, for example, may enableloading of the software from one computer or processor into another, forexample, from a management server or host computer of the mobilecommunication network into the computer platform of a server and/or froma server to the mobile device. Thus, another type of media that may bearthe software elements includes optical, electrical and electromagneticwaves, such as used across physical interfaces between local devices,through wired and optical landline networks and over various air-links.The physical elements that carry such waves, such as wired or wirelesslinks, optical links or the like, also may be considered as mediabearing the software. As used herein, unless restricted tonon-transitory, tangible “storage” media, terms such as computer ormachine “readable medium” refer to any medium that participates inproviding instructions to a processor for execution.

Additional objects and advantages of the disclosed embodiments will beset forth in part in the description that follows, and in part will beapparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of thedisclosed embodiments. The objects and advantages of the disclosedembodiments will be realized and attained by means of the elements andcombinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory onlyand are not restrictive of the disclosed embodiments, as claimed.

Other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled inthe art from consideration of the specification and practice of theinvention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification andexamples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spiritof the invention being indicated by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for providing an online interface fordisplaying hierarchically or logically arranged user-generated content,the method comprising: receiving, from a first user over a network,first topical user-generated electronic content, the first topicaluser-generated electronic content being related to a topic of a webpage; displaying the first topical user-generated electronic contentreceived from the first user on the web page; receiving, from a seconduser over the network, responsive user-generated electronic content andan indication of a desire to post the responsive user-generatedelectronic content on the web page in association with the first topicaluser-generated electronic content; displaying, adjacent to the firsttopical user-generated electronic content on the web page, a userelement or link that a third user can manipulate to display theresponsive user-generated electronic content adjacent to the firsttopical user-generated electronic content; receiving, from the thirduser over the network, a first response to the responsive user-generatedelectronic content and an indication of a desire to post the firstresponse to the responsive user-generated electronic content on the webpage in association with the responsive user-generated electroniccontent and the first topical user-generated electronic content;receiving, from a fourth user over the network, a second response to theresponsive user-generated electronic content and an indication of adesire to post the second response to the responsive user-generatedelectronic content on the web page in association with the responsiveuser-generated electronic content and the first topical user-generatedelectronic content; receiving, from the third user over the network, asecond topical user-generated electronic content, the second topicaluser-generated electronic content being related to the topic of the webpage; displaying, adjacent to the first topical user-generatedelectronic content on the web page, the second topical user-generatedelectronic content in an orthogonal direction relative to the firsttopical user-generated electronic content; and enabling a user to scrollhorizontally or swipe horizontally between the first topicaluser-generated electronic content and the second topical user-generatedelectronic content upon the user's interaction with a display device. 2.The method of claim 1, further comprising: displaying the first topicaluser-generated electronic content and the second topical user-generatedelectronic content as having the same width.
 3. The method of claim 1,further comprising: storing the responsive user-generated electroniccontent and the indication of a desire to post the responsiveuser-generated electronic content on the web page in association withthe first topical user-generated electronic content; and upon receivingfrom the third user a manipulation of the user element or link,displaying the responsive user-generated electronic content adjacent tothe first topical user-generated electronic content.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the user-generated content is a textual-based comment.5. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying theuser-generated content in relation to an associated content item.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, wherein the associated content item is an onlinearticle, online video, or online audio file.
 7. The method of claim 5,wherein the user-generated content is sorted, highlighted, ordistinguished based on a score.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein thescore is calculated based on one or more of a demographic associatedwith the user, an activity level of the conversation, and a number ofparticipants in the conversation.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein theresponse to the responsive user-generated electronic content and theresponsive user-generated electronic content are displayed on the webpage in a width that matches a width of the first topical user-generatedelectronic content.
 10. A system for providing an online interface fordisplaying hierarchically or logically arranged user-generated content,the system comprising: a memory device storing instructions forproviding an online interface for displaying hierarchically or logicallyarranged user-generated content; and a processor configured to executethe instructions to perform a method of: receiving, from a first userover a network, first topical user-generated electronic content, thefirst topical user-generated electronic content being related to a topicof a web page; displaying the first topical user-generated electroniccontent received from the first user on the web page; receiving, from asecond user over the network, responsive user-generated electroniccontent and an indication of a desire to post the responsiveuser-generated electronic content on the web page in association withthe first topical user-generated electronic content; displaying,adjacent to the first topical user-generated electronic content on theweb page, a user element or link that a third user can manipulate todisplay the responsive user-generated electronic content adjacent to thefirst topical user-generated electronic content; receiving, from thethird user over the network, a first response to the responsiveuser-generated electronic content and an indication of a desire to postthe first response to the responsive user-generated electronic contenton the web page in association with the responsive user-generatedelectronic content and the first topical user-generated electroniccontent; receiving, from a fourth user over the network, a secondresponse to the responsive user-generated electronic content and anindication of a desire to post the second response to the responsiveuser-generated electronic content on the web page in association withthe responsive user-generated electronic content and the first topicaluser-generated electronic content; receiving, from the third user overthe network, a second topical user-generated electronic content, thesecond topical user-generated electronic content being related to thetopic of the web page; displaying, adjacent to the first topicaluser-generated electronic content on the web page, the second topicaluser-generated electronic content in an orthogonal direction relative tothe first topical user-generated electronic content; and enabling a userto scroll horizontally or swipe horizontally between the first topicaluser-generated electronic content and the second topical user-generatedelectronic content upon the user's interaction with a display device.11. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configuredfor: displaying the first topical user-generated electronic content andthe second topical user-generated electronic content as having the samewidth.
 12. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured for: storing the responsive user-generated electronic contentand the indication of a desire to post the responsive user-generatedelectronic content on the web page in association with the first topicaluser-generated electronic content; and upon receiving from the thirduser a manipulation of the user element or link, displaying theresponsive user-generated electronic content adjacent to the firsttopical user-generated electronic content.
 13. The system of claim 10,wherein the user-generated content is a textual-based comment.
 14. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured for:displaying the user-generated content in relation to an associatedcontent item.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the associated contentitem is an online article, online video, or online audio file.
 16. Thesystem of claim 14, wherein the user-generated content is sorted,highlighted, or distinguished based on a score.
 17. The system of claim16, wherein the score is calculated based on one or more of ademographic associated with the user, an activity level of theconversation, and a number of participants in the conversation.
 18. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the first response to the responsiveuser-generated electronic content, the second response to the responsiveuser-generated electronic content, and the responsive user-generatedelectronic content are displayed on the web page in a width that doesnot match a width of the first topical user-generated electroniccontent.